Jan 15, 2009

Business - RIM, Redington India tie up for BlackBerry sales

KOLKATA: Smartphone maker Research in Motion (RIM) on Thursday announced a collaboration with Redington India to establish a national retaildistribution channels for their BlackBerry handsets. RIM expects this strategic business initiative will help it more effectively to tap the fast growing mobile communications market in India.

As part of the retail distribution agreement with Redington India, BlackBerry smartphones and service plans from supported carriers will initially be available in retail and modern trade outlets across nine cities. This includes Mumbai, Delhi, NCR, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad. Redington intends to expand the retail footprint in a phased manner and will offer a wide range of BlackBerry smartphones beginning with the BlackBerry Pearl series, the BlackBerry Curve series and the BlackBerry Bold smartphone.

"This is an exciting phase of growth for RIM and its partners in India and we are delighted to be working with Redington. This collaboration with Redington, together with our strong carrier partnerships and industry leading products and services, will further strengthen our market position and presence in India," RIM vice president (India) Frenny Bawa said in a release issued on Thursday.